


Different but Still the Same

by Mega_Erofan



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Homophobic Language, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Male Slash, Romance, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-08-09 10:04:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7797547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mega_Erofan/pseuds/Mega_Erofan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Ace is brutally turned down by the guy he’s had a crush on for almost a year, his best friend Zorael comes along to try and coax him out of his room and help him get over his heartbreak. It doesn’t exactly go as planned.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Different but Still the Same

**Author's Note:**

> Based on a writing prompt I found on tumblr: A confessing to their crush and crush turning them down. B then comforts A which leads to soft kisses, tear streaked faces, and lots of yelling.
> 
> And for reference with appearances:
> 
>  
> 
> [Ace](http://imgur.com/QcnTzzT)  
> [Zorael](http://imgur.com/qGeFA6I)

Zorael was about ready to deck somebody as he stormed down the hall but he knew no one else in the base was to blame for it, he could always hunt down the bastard responsible for it later. For now, his only goal was to help his friend. About a week ago, his close friend Ace had approached a lynx in New Metropolis that he had developed a crush on over the past year and finally built up the courage to tell the other how he really felt. Unfortunately, the entire plan backfired. Not only was the guy not interested but he berated Ace because of his sexuality and tore the boy’s heart and self confidence to pieces, causing him to stumble home blind with tears and lock himself in his room for the next few days. Everyone tried to talk to him and lure him out, but no one has been successful so far and Zorael himself only just found out about this after returning from a recon mission he went out on a week or so ago. The red and white ocelot was none too pleased to hear his best friend was so harshly rejected and bullied. He would be asking his brothers to help hunt down and gut the bastard responsible later, but he could vent his violent frustrations then, he had to take care of Ace first.

He arrives at the door to the hedgehog’s room, the orange light above it an obvious sign of “Do Not Disturb”, but Zorael chooses to ignore it and knocks on the door.

“Leave me alone!” Ace’s voice calls out, obviously pained as it cracks near the end.

“Ace, it’s Zorael. Let me in.” The cat orders then presses his large ear against the door.

“No!”

“Ace, please, I just want to help.”

“I don’t need anyone’s help. I just wanna be left alone!”

Zorael bites his lip, feeling his temper begin to slip but the hedgehog isn’t to blame in this scenario. He knows his temper is bad usually, but he can’t lash out at Ace, he didn’t deserve that after everything that’s happened. “If you don’t open this door, I’ll tear it open and let myself in. And if you don’t think I won’t, you clearly don’t know me well enough, Ace.”

He hears something shift on the other side of the door and footsteps shuffle, but they don’t approach the door, instead another door slamming echoes from inside. He knows Ace isn’t going to comply with him easily, being stubborn as him some days, and decides to take the less damaging route, pulling out a keycard from his pocket. His baby sister won’t appreciate having her master key lifted but her anger over this would be preferable to her rage over having to fix another broken door. He swipes the card in the reader beside the door and it lights up green as the words “Master Override Key Accepted” show on the small panel. The door slides open and the ocelot steps inside, the room being consumed by darkness as the door closes and locks behind him. He fumbles for the switch to his right and light bathes the room, finding the bed a complete mess but unable to locate his hedgehog friend. He approaches the bed and notices something on the blankets and sheets, blotches of deep red that seem smeared in some places. He feels something in his stomach drop at the realization of how deeply the encounter with the cat impacted Ace and his gaze quickly shifts to the door to his immediate right, leading to the private bathroom of the sleeping quarters. He notes the smudge of red on the door handle that looks uncomfortably fresh. He quietly shuffles to the bathroom door, pressing an ear against it and hearing the soft cries of his friend beyond it.

“Ace…” His tone dropped significantly from what it was earlier, now realizing what Ace is putting himself through and not wanting to push the boy any further over the edge.

“Go away, Zorael. I said I don’t need anyone’s help.” Ace’s words are broken by sobs that painfully squeeze Zorael’s heart. “I can handle this myself.”

“No you can’t, Ace.” Zorael murmurs, leaning against the door as he speaks. “I understand that son of a bitch hurt you worse than even I could imagine but he’s not worth hurting yourself over and he certainly isn’t worth dying over.”

“He called me a freak for being attracted to guys and told me to keep my “faggot feelings” to myself.” The feline’s heart breaks little by little as his friend’s words melt into sobs and cries. “He told me I was going to burn in hell for being a sin against nature and to stay away from him because he can’t be associated with a pansy faggot like me.”

The sound of something crashing beyond the door startles Zorael and, without thinking, charges into the bathroom. The sink is decorated with streaks of red and a bloody knife sits in the bowl with red smudges leading off to the side where Ace stumbled into the bathtub, knocking over some items on the countertop in the process. The hedgehog is sitting in the bathtub with his legs dangling outside, wearing nothing but a dingy shirt and shorts stained with smears of blood. Only then does Zorael notice the large gashes on his friend’s arms, a stark contrast of bright red against snow white. He quickly grabs some towels from the nearby rack and carefully helps the hedgehog out of the tub, easing him onto the floor then wrapping the towels around the wounds to stop the bleeding. When he’s sure the towels are tight enough to stop the bleeding, he gently cups his friend’s face in his hands and forces the other to look at him. The cloudy sheen in the hedgehog’s once bright amber eyes tears his heart into two, knowing this wasn’t like the Ace he knew before he left. He gently rubs circles on the boy’s cheeks and touches his brow against the other’s as Ace begins to softly cry, feeling his own tears slip out as well.

“I’m sorry” is Ace’s only response before he begins bawling and buries his face in his friend’s shoulder, feeling the other embrace him tightly as if afraid he’ll slip away at this point. “I’m sorry, Zorael. I know I promised never to do this again but the words hurt too much. I couldn’t stand knowing he hates my guts so much because of who I am, that I’m nothing more than a freak to him.” Zorael simply holds him until the other’s cries settle to whimpers and hoarse sobs then carefully picks him up. “W-where are you taking me?”

“To the infirmary to have Helen properly tend to those cuts on your arm.” Zorael sighs as he makes his way out of the bathroom. “They’ve not been able to properly heal these past few days, so it would be best to have her clean them and make sure you haven’t done any serious damage to yourself.” He unlocks the door and calmly walks out and towards the infirmary. “I’ll explain everything to her so she isn’t bombarding you with questions.”

Ace shakily nuzzles into his friend’s neck. “Thank you.”

It takes Helen a little over an hour to treat Ace’s injuries and get all the information from Zorael before she leaves the two to report to Haela, warning Zorael not to leave until she returns as if he planned on leaving Ace’s side to begin with. The two sit in silence for a few minutes, simply holding each other’s hand without realizing it until Ace squeezes Zorael’s to get his attention.

“Listen, I really need to thank you properly for what you did back there.” The hedgehog murmurs as he runs a hand through his snowy quills, his voice hoarse and quiet. “Everyone else kinda gave up on me and left me to my own devices. I would’ve died in there if you hadn’t forced your way in like you did.”

“I knew leaving you alone would be the worst thing I could do as a friend.” Zorael sighs as he absentmindedly rubs circles on the back of Ace’s hand with his thumb. “I knew how much you obsessed over that lynx, only for him to do everything but spit in your face, leaving you to deal with the shatters of the aftermath. It wasn’t right what he said to you, you deserve better than him if he wanted to be such an ass about the entire thing.” He glances up and instinctively wipes away a tear that slips from Ace, surprising the other. “You mean too much to me to lose you over some prick like him.”

It’s not clear when the space between the two started closing but they find themselves nose-to-nose before Zorael instinctively closes the final inches of space and kisses the other. It’s not a rough passionate kiss like the two are used to but a soft embrace that simmers long enough to make their lips tingle as they part in surprise before going back for seconds and thirds. Zorael soon finds himself straddling the smaller hedgehog as he sprinkles soft butterfly kisses on his lips, face, jaw, and neck, working his way along each side before leaving a lingering kiss on the other’s lips. The two seem lost in each other’s eyes for a moment before Zorael settles in the bed beside Ace and pulls him close, the hedgehog’s back against his front. Ace relishes in the heat of his friend and settles into the embrace.

“Zorael?” The Ocelot hums in response as he buries his nose in the hedgehog’s quills to deeply take in his scent. “I think I’m in love with you.”

“I’m glad to hear that” Zorael chuckles as he shifts his head to nuzzle his mouth behind Ace’s ear, tickling him slightly “because I’ve been in love with you since day one.”

He wasn’t lying. He had a strong affection for the other since they first met through Haela and it had grown stronger each day that passed. It hurt to see the other fall in and out of love with others during their extended period of friendship and having to now console his friend after such a harsh rejection only further stirred the feelings he had. If he said nothing now, he would’ve exploded with a passionate confession at some point soon. He was more than happy to air out these feelings now instead of waiting until the hedgehog found another to move onto.

“And you didn’t say anything?”

“I assumed you didn’t feel the same way and I was afraid of you rejecting me.” Zorael explains, firmly hugging the other against him. “I’ve always had a fear of being rejected by others. I just seem cold on the outside to protect myself from potential heartbreak.”

“I can understand that.” Ace sighs. “I’m just glad we can be honest with each other about that.” Zorael nods and pulls the other tighter against him. “Does this mean we’re a thing now?”

“If you want to be with me, I have no qualms about it.”

“Me neither.”

“Then I guess we’re together.” Zorael softly yawns, causing Ace to giggle from the sensation in his sensitive quills. “Enough talk for right now, we both need sleep more than anything.”

“Yeah,” Ace nuzzles into the pillow with a quiet yawn “night Zorael.”

“Sleep well, my little trooper.”


End file.
